The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was founded in the mid\’30s, and they immediately turned their attention to building a world class horse racing venue. The names that were instrumental in the creation of Del Mar include a whos who of American entertainment–most notably Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) and Jimmy Durante. At the time the facility opened thoroughbred horse racing was the second most popular sport in America behind major league baseball, and Del Mar\’s show biz roots further helped secure its place as an important stop on the racing circuit.

The starpower drawn to the course was unprecedented. Bing Crosby himself greeted patrons at the gate on opening day, and during the late\’30s and early\’40s it became a place to be seen for Hollywood A-listers and those who aspired for celebrity. In addition to known gambling enthusiasts like W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen and Red Skelton, the Del Mar patrons during that time also included some of the top female stars of the era including Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour

Del Mar was the site of the\’38 match race between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. Seabiscut won the $25,000 winner take all challenge by a nose, and this race set Del Mar betting and attendance records and remains one of the most famous races in history. The racing at Del Mar continued to flourish until the start of WWII, when the track went \’dark\’ for racing.

After the war Del Mar didn\’t miss a beat, and reopened the day after Japan surrendered to Allied Forces in Tokyo Bay. That day drew over 21,000 fans to the park and set a new wagering record of over $950,000. The track flourished during the post war economic boom years, and improved transportation between the major urban centers in Southern California–along with a new crop of stars including Mickey Rooney, Jimmy Durante and Desi Arnez, Jr.–kept the track in the limelight.

The annual race meet at Del Mar remains a highlight of the summer to this day. Del Mar remains one of the top tracks in the country, and have recently upgraded their facility with a state of the art grandstand and was one of the first tracks to install a new synthetic racing surface.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

The Seattle Slew story began very modestly at a public auction in Lexington, Kentucky. The Keeneland Summer Yearling sale wasn\’t supposed to be the marketplace of champions, and the idea that this particular horse would ever amount to anything other than a farmhand was downright laughable. He was somewhat clumsy looking due to a front right forefoot splay and had a shuffling gait at trot. Slew wasn\’t a beautifully majestic creature like his Triple Crown winning predecessor, Secretariat. Slew was borderline ugly. So ungainly a creature was he that he was given the less than inspiring nickname \”Baby Huey\” by the Keeneland staff. He was purchased by two couples (Karen and Mickey Taylor and Jim and Sally Hill) for $17,500. What wasn\’t apparent at the yearling sale was the intangibles that make up a championship thoroughbred–poise under pressure, love of competition, toughness, heart and desire. His owners had unwittingly stumbled onto an equine Muhammad Ali, and his competitive fire quickly became apparent to his trainers and jockeys. His first race came at Belmont Park in\’76, and he entered–and won–three races as a two year old giving a glimpse as to what like ahead.

As a three year old, he quickly gained notice by winning his three Derby prep races, including the prestigious Wood Memorial. In the Derby, Slew got off to a terrible start as he stumbled from the gate much like War Emblem did in the 2002 Belmont. Unlike 2002\’s Triple Crown contender, however, Slew was able to recover from that miscue and basically force his way through a pack of other horses to position himself at the front of the field at the quarter mile pole. He went on to win the Derby by a length and 3 quarters. Another tough victory in the Preakness set up his Triple Crown winning run at the Belmont, which he won by 4 lengths.

Slew ran in a few races as a 4 year old but in the pre-Breeders\’ Cup days there wasn\’t as many opportunities for an older horse. He retired to stud in\’78, where he sired champions such as the aforementioned Swale and\’92 Belmont Champ AP Indy.

In some ways, Slew had much in common with the heavyweight championship reign of Larry Holmes. He came so quickly on the heels of such incredible excellence–Slew was forever in the shadow of\’73 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, Holmes on the heels of Muhammad Ali–that he never gained the appreciation he deserved during his prime. In hindsight, however, it has finally been noted what an exceptional horse he really was. Jockey Angel Cordero, who rode Slew during the twilight of his career noted \”If I had a chance to take any horse in the world, if someone said your life is depending on riding one horse to win, I would take (Slew). I rode 44,000 horses, but he was special, he was different. He was muscled, like a wrestler. He ran different than any other horse. It was like he came from another planet.\”

After his death in 2002, Slew was buried at Hill \’n\’ Dale Farm in Lexington, Kentucky under a statue in his image.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Although the Breeders’ Cup is nipping at its heels, without a doubt the Kentucky Derby is the biggest horse race of the year in the United States. This is a race that attracts many fans from the general public that typically don’t follow horse racing. A thorough understanding of horse racing, and which horses will win and why is a complex discipline that requires extensive specialized knowledge.

Despite the complexity of understanding horse racing, there are a few basic rules that can help the novice watch the Kentucky Derby with a greater degree of enjoyment. Until recently, the Derby was a race dominated by the favorite. In the 1970′s great horses like Secretariat and Seattle Slew blew away the field but since Spectacular Bid’s winning run in 1979 there have been only a couple of favorites to win the big race. While a serious horse player might not want to categorically dismiss the popular favorite, for the horse racing novice this is a helpful way to narrow down the field.

There are a variety of theories behind the poor performance of favorites in the Kentucky Derby of late. One is that the hype surrounding the race has attracted so many mainstream fans who are prone to back the horse with the most media hype. Unfortunately, the most hyped horse is seldom the best horse.

Post position is also something that the horse racing neophyte should pay attention to. Obviously post position number 1 is an advantage relative to the outer ones, but it hasnt been a strong edge over the other inside positions. Twelve Derby winners have had the #1 position going into the race (the most of any position) but positions #4 and #5 have had ten winners each. In terms of percentages, positions #1 through #5 have yielded 49 winners (or just under 40%). On the other hand, the outermost positions (#11 through #20) have had just 16 winners (or just under 13%). It is important to note that theres not always that many horses in the race, which would obviously result in few higher posts winning. Still, concentrating on horses with favorable post positions is another way to pare down a field that you know little about.

Another factor worthy of consideration is the horses lineage and breeding. Start at the beginning”where the horse was born. Most, but not all, serious racehorses are born in Kentucky. If you see a horse in the race that wasnt, forget them. This is not any sort of home field advantage but a result of the concentration of the Thoroughbred horse industry in the state. Over 80% of Kentucky Derby winners have been born in Kentucky. Next, consider the horses gender, or more specifically dont consider any entry with a gender other than male. Only eleven horses other than intact males have ever won the race (eight geldings and three fillies). A gelding did win as recently as 2003, when Funny Cide took the roses but again for the newcomer this is an easy way to cut down the horses under consideration. This isnt a gender bias or anything, but for our purposes we can forget about non-male horses.

Also, take a look at dosage index numbers. For the novice, there’s no real reason to worry about what they mean or how they’re figured but the general rule of thumb is to look for a horse with a dosage index of 4.00 or less. Since 1984, over half of all Derby winners have fit this criteria.

If you want to learn about horse racing in more depth, there are countless books available to introduce you to the subject. For a recreational fan who just wants to have a better understanding of the Kentucky Derby, these rules can help.

Everyone quickly understands the basics of sports gambling, because its as simple as the sports themselves. Horse racing, on the other hand, is a more difficult form of gambling to approach successfully. While there are some similarities between sports gambling and horse handicapping, success in one by no means assures even competency in the other. CBS Sports icon Jimmy ‘The Greek’ Snyder was by all accounts a first rate sports handicapper, but downright awful at forecasting horse races.

Below are some very basic concepts that you need to know to enjoy a day at the horse track. This information doesn’t even scratch the surface of what you’ll need to know if your goal is to become a serious horse betting devotee. If that is the case, you’re best advised to check out one of the many theoretical books devoted to the subject.

Reading in Fundamental: The first thing you should do when you arrive at the horse track is to purchase a track program and a copy of the Daily Racing Form. The Daily Racing Form (or DRF for short) is the Wall Street Journal of the horse handicapping set. The track program will offer much of the same information about the specific track, but is frequently in a more user friendly format than the often arcane DRF. The basic stats you’ll find in these publications are the names of the horses, jockeys and trainers, the morning line odds, and the types of bets available for each race. You’ll also have past performance charts, which are the bread and butter of serious horse handicappers. These charts reveal a lot about a horse and what theyve done on the racetrack, including its record, where it ran, the quality of competition it ran against, and what position the horse was in at various points in the race. Most tracks have customer service types that are helpful in clearing up anything you dont understand. While asking the personnel in a sports book who they like isn’t a wise idea, its OK at the track for a reason well now discuss”you’re not playing against them.

You’re playing against other bettors, not the racetrack: A big difference between sports wagering and horse betting is the function of ‘the house’. In horse racing, you’re not playing against the track–instead, you’re betting against the other patrons. The track simply serves as a ‘banker’, accepting money and paying bets. For this service, they take a percentage of the money bet on each race (called the ‘takeout’). The odds on a horse aren’t set by the track, but rather by the amount of money bet on each entry.

So where do the odds in the newspaper or program come from? The so-called morning odds are basically educated guesses as to where the wagering will go. Its roughly analogous to overnight lines in sports gambling. They can be helpful as a guideline, but may or may not be indicative as to how the actual wagering will go.

Horse handicapping basics: This is where horse racing gets complex–there are countless theories about how to handicap a horse race. Some handicappers consider the breeding lineage of the horse, while others are more concerned with past performance. Still others put more weight on the training a horse has received, or its workout performance.

Once a bettor reaches a conclusion about what he thinks will happen in a given race, it is still subject to the odds that are available when betting. This is similar to sports gambling, where an underdog may be more attractive due to an excessively high payback potential than he would ordinary, or, conversely, a clear favorite becomes an unattractive wagering proposition due to a prohibitively high price. Its all a matter of the math”if I could speak to the teenagers of America, Id try to impress upon them the importance of doing well in math for no other reason than its importance in all forms of gambling.

Training and bloodlines: Handicappers often focus on a horse’s breeding lineage, considering the quality of the bloodlines and the racing pedigree of his parents and grandparents. Others put great focus on a horse’s trainers. An ‘A-list’ trainer can often get the most out of a horse much in the same way an elite level NFL coach can cause a team to ‘over perform’.

The Jockeys: In the simplest terms, jockeys are independent contractors and thus to make money they need to do well. In theory, a jockey wants to get on the best horse possible in each race to maximize his chances of winning. That also results in sort of a chicken and the egg conundrum”are the horses winning because the best jockeys are aboard, or are the best jockeys merely adept at getting on the best horses? Most serious horse players look to the jockey as a secondary consideration. Its sort of a situation where a good jockey cant win with a bad horse, but a bad jockey can cause a good horse not to win.

Don’t Go Overboard, and Try to Find What Works For You: As with any new betting discipline, its always sound advice to not go overboard with the amount of money you wager. These are just the basics of how to bet a horse race and what some of the salient factors are in determining who will win or lose a race, and doesn’t even to begin to scratch the surface of successfully handicapping the sport. If you want to learn more, Id suggest starting with the Daily Racing Form website, after which a simple Google search can expand your options from there.

Although the Breeders’ Cup is nipping at its heels, without a doubt the Kentucky Derby is the biggest horse race of the year in the United States. This is a race that attracts many fans from the general public that typically don’t follow horse racing. A thorough understanding of horse racing, and which horses will win and why is a complex discipline that requires extensive specialized knowledge.

Despite the complexity of understanding horse racing, there are a few basic rules that can help the novice watch the Kentucky Derby with a greater degree of enjoyment. Until recently, the Derby was a race dominated by the favorite. In the 1970′s great horses like Secretariat and Seattle Slew blew away the field but since Spectacular Bid’s winning run in 1979 there have been only a couple of favorites to win the big race. While a serious horse player might not want to categorically dismiss the popular favorite, for the horse racing novice this is a helpful way to narrow down the field.

So why has the favorite done so poorly in recent years? One theory suggests that it is a by-product of the hype surrounding the race. Novice horse fans back the favorite, making it more of a popularity contest than anything else. The reality is that the horse with the most hype is not always the best horse.

Another important component of Kentucky derby success is the post position of the horses. The innermost positions (1 through 5) have produced over 40% of all Derby winners, while the outer post positions (11 through 20) have had only 13% winners. Note that in some years there might not be that many horses in the race, which would help partially explain the poor performance of the outer start positions. Still, for the purposes of understanding a single race eliminating all of the less favorable start positions is a good idea.

A couple more factors to consider are the horse’s gender and breeding lineage. A couple of simple rules can be applied here–first of all, forget all horses that aren’t intact males (geldings and fillies). Over 90% of all Derby winners have been intact males. Then, eliminate any horse that wasn’t born in the state of Kentucky. This stipulation is starting to change, but for the time being is a good rule to apply for the novice. Over 80% of all Derby winners have been born in Kentucky.

Also, take a look at dosage index numbers. For the novice, there’s no real reason to worry about what they mean or how they’re figured but the general rule of thumb is to look for a horse with a dosage index of 4.00 or less. Since 1984, over half of all Derby winners have fit this criteria.

For a more serious introduction to horse racing, check out the many books available on the subject at any large bookstore. For a casual fan who just follows the ‘big races’ these rules will help you get a decent grasp on the Kentucky Derby and understand who will win and why.

Seattle Slew–the last living Triple Crown winner–died on May 7, 2002 at the age of 28. As one of only 11 Triple Crown winners in history, he is by default one of the greatest horses in the history of thoroughbred racing. Of those 11 legendary animals, Seattle Slew was the only one to complete the Triple Crown with an undefeated record, as well as the only one to have been purchased at a public auction. After retiring in 1978, Slew became one of the most important and successful stud horses in the history of the sport. He sired 1,066 foals including 102 stakes race winners. Among this impressive group of offspring was the 1984 Kentucky Derby winner, Swale. All told, Slew’s offspring have won an amazing $76 million dollars at the race track. Slew’s stud fee of $300,000 made him a very profitable horse even after his racing career was over. Slew wasn’t a particularly attractive horse, but he had the toughness of a championship boxer and the sort of intestinal fortitude and desire that can only be given by The Creator.

The Seattle Slew story began very modestly at a public auction in Lexington, Kentucky. The Keeneland Summer Yearling sale wasn’t supposed to be the marketplace of champions, and the idea that this particular horse would ever amount to anything other than a farmhand was downright laughable. Slew looked clumsy, due primarily to a right forefoot that splayed outward and resulting in a shuffling gait at a trot. He also wasn’t a majestic beast like his predecessor by a few years, Secretariat. Slew was borderline ugly. So ungainly a creature was he that he was given the less than inspiring nickname “Baby Huey” by the Keeneland staff. He was purchased by two couples (Karen and Mickey Taylor and Jim and Sally Hill) for $17,500. What wasn’t apparent at the yearling sale was the intangibles that make up a championship thoroughbred–poise under pressure, love of competition, toughness, heart and desire. The Taylor’s and Hill’s had stumbled onto an equine Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan who’s competitive fire quickly became apparent to the trainers that worked with him and the jockeys that rode him. His first race came at Belmont in 1976, and the three races he entered–and won–as a 2 year old gave a hint of what was to come.

Slew became the Kentucky Derby favorite by winning his three prep races as a three year old, including prestigious Wood Memorial. In the Derby, Slew got off to a terrible start as he stumbled from the gate much like War Emblem did in the 2002 Belmont. Unlike 2002′s Triple Crown contender, however, Slew was able to recover from that miscue and basically force his way through a pack of other horses to position himself at the front of the field at the quarter mile pole. Slew would win the Derby by a length and 3 quarters. He took another tough victory at the Preakness before clinching the Triple Crown with a 4 length victory in the Belmont Stakes.

Slew ran in a few races as a 4 year old but in the pre-Breeders’ Cup days there wasn’t as many opportunities for an older horse. He retired to stud in 1978. We’ve already discussed his prowess in the breeding shed, siring a number of first rate horses such as the aforementioned Swale, and the 1992 Belmont champ AP Indy. Slew stood at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Kentucky from 1985 until early 2002 when he was moved to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Lexington, KY following a spinal operation.

Slew may not have earned the appreciation he deserved in his prime, coming so closely on the heels of the charismatic 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat–arguably the greatest thoroughbred race horse in history. The jockeys that rode him, however, understood fully what a special animal they were dealing with. Jockey Angel Cordero gave Seattle Slew this lofty praise: “If I had a chance to take any horse in the world, if someone said your life is depending on riding one horse to win, I would take (Slew). I rode 44,000 horses, but he was special, he was different. He was muscled, like a wrestler. He ran different than any other horse. It was like he came from another planet.”

Following his death in 2002, Slew was laid to rest at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky under a statue memorializing his legacy.

There are various opinions on whether gambling is a good or bad thing. We do know that it has been in existence since time began and probably involved two men seeing who could pee or spit the furthest.

Women are not exempt from betting either. I’ve heard a few say, “I’ll bet you I can get him to ask me out by this weekend.” Some argue that the two words (I’ll bet you) when used in a sentence don’t really constitute gambling, especially if there isn’t cash or a prize involved.

Personally, I think that anytime anyone says I’ll bet you there is at least an implied prize. It could be something like, “I know more than you or I’m manlier than you.” I guess that’s a psychological payoff. Sometimes there’s a case of beer involved or a steak dinner. To me, it’s all gambling.

And then there is the real thing. The down-to-the-penny, money up-front, definitive wager. Perhaps this kind of betting took place when racing camels or donkeys. What I find interesting though, is the genesis of royalty’s involvement in horse racing. They wagered their fortunes, daughters and kingdoms for the sport. It was a sport of the genteel and their well-dressed ladies.

Fast forward to the present. Of all the equestrian events, which include quite a few, horse racing is now a sport for the common man and woman. Placing bets is now entertainment with the chance of hitting it big. And you don’t even have to pick the first-place winner to make a profit.

Besides the chance to win on the second or third place horses there are other ways to place bets. And with your friends at your side you can all play the ponies, have some drinks and eat, too while watching the horses and jockeys try their best to end up in the winner’s circle.

Many years ago people would buy a racing form from their local news stand and make their bets with a local bookie who had several phone lines and represented different races at different tracks across the country. Never mind the fact that it was illegal! People, being the way they are were determined to gamble and that’s all there was to it.

Now with computers and other hi-tech equipment off-site betting is legal in many states. The horse-race betting in Reno, Las Vegas and other notable casinos quickly come to mind. You can go and place your bets, sit in a comfortable chair with a cocktail and watch the race of your choice on a television monitor. You never have to go near a race track. And if you win you get paid immediately but if you win over a certain amount you’ll share your winnings with the ever-present I.R.S.

For the people who don’t frequent Sin City or it’s rivals, off-site betting has made its way into the comfort of our homes. Now, you can sit down at your computer, dial up your favorite website, read the online racing form and place your bets. It’s perfectly legal. All you have to do is set up your account. You just have to be of legal age and possess a credit card.

Though royalty still enjoys the sport we commoners love betting on the ponies, too. As I see it, so long as folks have a competitive streak within them, I’ll bet you the wagering will continue. As to the morality of it, you decide.